Ormond joins suit to save airport tower

Published: Wednesday, March 27, 2013 at 4:45 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, March 28, 2013 at 8:25 a.m.

ORMOND BEACH — Faced with the imminent loss of air traffic control service at its airport, Ormond Beach is joining a lawsuit to challenge a decision by the Federal Aviation Administration to close 149 contracted airport towers across the nation.

"It's a bit of an uphill climb," City Attorney Randy Hayes said. "(But) I do think there is a valid argument to be made."

Ormond Beach Municipal Airport was informed by the FAA on March 22 its airport traffic control tower would be among those that would lose federal funding due to sequestration, the congressional budget deal that's forcing the federal agency to make more than $600 million in cuts. Ormond Beach's tower was chosen because it had fewer than 150,000 flight operations last year.

Hayes said Ormond's airport tower, which is staffed by six employees, will be shuttered April 6 and federal funding would cease the next day. New Smyrna Beach's airport tower is also scheduled to close the same day, along with 22 other airport towers, according to the FAA. A total of 46 contract towers will lose funding on April 21 and another 79 on May 5, the federal agency stated.

But a motion will be filed this week in the U.S. Court of Appeals on behalf of the city by the Denver-based law firm Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell, which will ask a federal judge to delay the tower's closure. Lawyers will argue the FAA failed to follow federal standards in deciding to close airport towers, attorney Peter Kirsch said.

"The FAA made that decision without conducting any safety analysis," a violation of federal protocol, Kirsch said by telephone Wednesday of the group's argument.

Kirsch's firm is also representing airports in Punta Gorda and Naples. Several other airports are expected to challenge the FAA's decision in court, Kirsch said. New Smyrna Beach Tuesday night opted not to contest the FAA's decision.

Earlier this month, city leaders from Ormond and New Smyrna Beach lobbied the FAA to reconsider its decision to close the cities' towers, but their appeals were denied. At the time, cities were told the FAA could only consider the "national interest" in deciding the fate of airport towers.

"We heard from communities across the country about the importance of their towers and these were very tough decisions," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. "Unfortunately we are faced with a series of difficult choices that we have to make to reach the required cuts under sequestration."

Spencer Dickerson, executive director of the United States Contract Tower Association, said he also believes the FAA went outside of its normal protocol.

"This thing is out of control. I think they're just charging ahead," he said Wednesday by telephone, "and there's no justification for it."

Hayes said he believes the city will receive an answer next week on whether its stay will be granted. If so, a judge would then decide whether standards were followed and the FAA could be forced to conduct a safety analysis, at the very least staving off the tower closure for a few months.

If the appeal is denied, then "we're done, out in the cold," Hayes said. He added if the city's tower closes, it's unlikely the federal government would reopen it. The city would have to spend up to $100,000 to reopen it on its own, Hayes said.

"That was a pretty big factor in our decision-making," he said of taking the legal action, which will cost the city about $25,000.

City officials view the airport as a key in Ormond Beach's economic prospects and hopes for development in the area — hopes that might be diminished should the traffic control tower close permanently. With no air traffic control tower, pilots would be responsible for communicating with others while landing and taking off, though corporations typically won't land their planes at an airport without a tower because of liability issues.

Though the number of flights out of the Ormond facility has declined in recent years, the city estimates the airport injects about $50 million into the economy and helps to employ more than 500 people.

Commissioners were optimistic Wednesday about the city's chances of winning the legal challenge.

"It's frustrating that we have to go this route, but I think in the long run it is far less expensive to try and keep the tower open then to let it be closed wrongfully," Deputy Mayor Bill Partington said.

Mayor Ed Kelley said should the appeal be denied, "Then we'll move on."

Asked about the city's chances for a favorable outcome, Kelley replied, "I'm more hopeful than I was yesterday."

<p>ORMOND BEACH &mdash; Faced with the imminent loss of air traffic control service at its airport, Ormond Beach is joining a lawsuit to challenge a decision by the Federal Aviation Administration to close 149 contracted airport towers across the nation. </p><p>"It's a bit of an uphill climb," City Attorney Randy Hayes said. "(But) I do think there is a valid argument to be made." </p><p>Ormond Beach Municipal Airport was informed by the FAA on March 22 its airport traffic control tower would be among those that would lose federal funding due to sequestration, the congressional budget deal that's forcing the federal agency to make more than $600 million in cuts. Ormond Beach's tower was chosen because it had fewer than 150,000 flight operations last year. </p><p>Hayes said Ormond's airport tower, which is staffed by six employees, will be shuttered April 6 and federal funding would cease the next day. New Smyrna Beach's airport tower is also scheduled to close the same day, along with 22 other airport towers, according to the FAA. A total of 46 contract towers will lose funding on April 21 and another 79 on May 5, the federal agency stated. </p><p>But a motion will be filed this week in the U.S. Court of Appeals on behalf of the city by the Denver-based law firm Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell, which will ask a federal judge to delay the tower's closure. Lawyers will argue the FAA failed to follow federal standards in deciding to close airport towers, attorney Peter Kirsch said. </p><p>"The FAA made that decision without conducting any safety analysis," a violation of federal protocol, Kirsch said by telephone Wednesday of the group's argument. </p><p>Kirsch's firm is also representing airports in Punta Gorda and Naples. Several other airports are expected to challenge the FAA's decision in court, Kirsch said. New Smyrna Beach Tuesday night opted not to contest the FAA's decision. </p><p>Earlier this month, city leaders from Ormond and New Smyrna Beach lobbied the FAA to reconsider its decision to close the cities' towers, but their appeals were denied. At the time, cities were told the FAA could only consider the "national interest" in deciding the fate of airport towers. </p><p>"We heard from communities across the country about the importance of their towers and these were very tough decisions," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. "Unfortunately we are faced with a series of difficult choices that we have to make to reach the required cuts under sequestration." </p><p>Spencer Dickerson, executive director of the United States Contract Tower Association, said he also believes the FAA went outside of its normal protocol. </p><p>"This thing is out of control. I think they're just charging ahead," he said Wednesday by telephone, "and there's no justification for it." </p><p>Hayes said he believes the city will receive an answer next week on whether its stay will be granted. If so, a judge would then decide whether standards were followed and the FAA could be forced to conduct a safety analysis, at the very least staving off the tower closure for a few months. </p><p>If the appeal is denied, then "we're done, out in the cold," Hayes said. He added if the city's tower closes, it's unlikely the federal government would reopen it. The city would have to spend up to $100,000 to reopen it on its own, Hayes said. </p><p>"That was a pretty big factor in our decision-making," he said of taking the legal action, which will cost the city about $25,000. </p><p>City officials view the airport as a key in Ormond Beach's economic prospects and hopes for development in the area &mdash; hopes that might be diminished should the traffic control tower close permanently. With no air traffic control tower, pilots would be responsible for communicating with others while landing and taking off, though corporations typically won't land their planes at an airport without a tower because of liability issues. </p><p>Though the number of flights out of the Ormond facility has declined in recent years, the city estimates the airport injects about $50 million into the economy and helps to employ more than 500 people. </p><p>Commissioners were optimistic Wednesday about the city's chances of winning the legal challenge. </p><p>"It's frustrating that we have to go this route, but I think in the long run it is far less expensive to try and keep the tower open then to let it be closed wrongfully," Deputy Mayor Bill Partington said. </p><p>Mayor Ed Kelley said should the appeal be denied, "Then we'll move on." </p><p>Asked about the city's chances for a favorable outcome, Kelley replied, "I'm more hopeful than I was yesterday."</p>